1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a carton for the storage, transport and display of a packaged product, and more particularly, to a carton which is convertible from a substantially sealed configuration for storage and transport of a packaged product to a substantially open configuration for display of a packaged product.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cartons, and in particular paperboard cartons or boxes, have been used for many years to store and transport various products. Products have generally been packed within a paperboard box which is provided with a removable lid or integral folded top which is sealed. The boxes are transported within the sealed boxes from the manufacturing facility to the place of retail sale. In order to present the products for retail sale, store personnel must open the folded top of the sealed box or completely remove the lid, remove each individual package from the box, properly position the packages on available display shelves, and then discard the storage box. Thus, transporting a packaged product from a storage location to a display location using conventional paperboard boxes was a labor intensive process. The sealed boxes, unless labeled or printed externally, also prevented retailers from determining what was packaged therewithin. In addition, discard of the paperboard box after the product had been placed on display for retail sale created considerable waste for the retailer, in addition to raising environmental concerns.
The use of stand-up resealable pouches, being generally rectangular with a generally triangular cross-sectional shape, has also complicated the efficient packing of products packaged therein. Various forms of chipboard trays may be loaded with the stand-up packages and then placed within a further corrugated shipping container. This arrangement, however, due to the irregular shape of the packages, resulted in larger shipping containers which increased the cost for manufacturing since more material was required.
To reduce the costs and labor requirements associated with conventional cases used to transport stand up packages, shipping and display containers such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,495 to Gray have also been utilized. The Gray container allows the irregularly shaped stand up type packages to be nested or interleaved during shipping. The patent further discloses that the container has weakened portions on the ends and tops such that the container can be severed into two halves which were connected at the bottom. The two halves can then be rotated to form two abutting back-to-back display trays. The Grey container, however, like the sealed boxes before, completely sealed the container and prevented the retailer from determining the contents thereof without opening the container. In addition, the Gray container is a modified regular slotted container requiring sealing of both the bottom surface and the top of the container.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a shipping and storage carton or container which may easily be converted into a display device and which enables the retailer to view the packaged product within the sealed carton when in the storage configuration, and which is easily fabricated.